Rapid Reaction: Saints 42, Buccaneers 17

Despite a strong outing by rookie QB Mike Glennon, the Buccaneers couldn’t keep up in a Superdome shootout, falling to Drew Brees and the Saints, 42-17.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers came to the Louisiana Superdome on Sunday hoping to play spoiler. Instead, they fell victim to Drew Brees’ four touchdown passes in the game.

The Saints entered the game with no chance at the NFC South title but needing either a win over the Buccaneers or a loss by Arizona to clinch a Wild Card berth. They ended up with the win in another Superdome shootout, 42-17.

Buccaneers rookie QB Mike Glennon had his best outing in a month, an encouraging finish in that regard, completing 22 of 41 passes for 219 yards, two touchdowns, one interception and a passer rating of 75.2. In the process, he tied the NFL record for most two-touchdown games by a rookie passer with eight; Seattle’s Russell Wilson and Indianapolis’ Andrew Luck hit that figure last year, tying Washington’s Charlie Conerly in 1948. However, that wasn’t enough to counter a Saints offense that rolled for 470 total yards and didn’t commit any turnovers.

The Buccaneers played the game extremely aggressively, knowing they had to sustain drives and score points against a Saints team that came in averaging just under 33 points per game in the Superdome. They went for it on fourth-and-three from their own side of the field on the opening drive of the third quarter (successfully, leading to a field goal) and eschewed a field goal just before halftime in favor of a trick-play pass by punter Michael Koenen (unsuccessful).

The Buccaneers finished the season at 4-12 while the Saints improved to 11-5.